Last Thursday, I had a few hours of free time, which I was happy to spend in Barnes and Nobel going throw some art magazines. Since art is a huge part of my life (I run an online art gallery and do monthly interviews with artists), I picked up a few magazines to see what they’re publishing, and what the international and local art communities are talking about.

Now I think I know why so many people don’t understand art or refuse to read about it or voice their opinion.

Did you know that based on data from the Alliance for Audited Media, as of June 30, 2017, there are no art magazines in the top 100?!? And after reading a few articles, I can confidently say that so-called reputable experts are to blame for it.

The way they twist the language while describing somebody’s work is unspeakable. It’s like they’re in a literary class and the teacher asked them to replace the words with the most sophisticated synonym they could find. Are they writing to communicate with the average reader, or are they trying to impress their peers with their intellectual brilliance?

There’s a reason why marketing, news and blogs are written at a 10th- to 12th-grade reading level. If the reader doesn’t understand the message, the entire exercise was a costly, fruitless effort. Sure, it plays well at the country club, but it just kept would-be art lovers confused and unenthused.

How does this serve the art community who’s trying to get people into museums, galleries and exhibitions? It doesn’t just have an intellectual opportunity cost (the opportunity lost by choosing to do something else, because you did not know); it has an economic impact as well: lost sales of art, ticket sales to events, concessions, etc. that won’t stimulate the local economy. It makes me wonder if Einstein’s quote applies to them: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

Here are my top picks from just seven sentences – in ONE paragraph! – from one article in latest issue of Art in America.

As they say, Art in America is widely read by art dealers, collectors, historians, art professionals and others. I would love for OTHERS to be as excited about reading it just as much as art professionals. And I really hope we’ll be able to enjoy the read for the next hundred years.